The Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector is a vital cornerstone of our integrated care system in BLMK. The sector’s values based culture bring deep connections into our diverse communities, and an understanding of the needs, challenges, and aspirations of our residents.
The VCSE brings forward unique perspectives, helping us to think differently about solutions to the many, complex challenges faced by health and care systems. Which is why we have supported the establishment of VCSE Strategy Group – the engine room of our Communities Together programme.
Our Communities Together Programme
Central to BLMK ICB’s approach to delivering its strategic aim to enable all residents to live more years in good health – and support communities to thrive – is the recognition that it is the wider determinants of health that have the greatest influence on the health and well-being of our residents – 80% in fact. VCSE partners have a unique role in engaging, developing and delivering the community resources and networks that support each of us to tackle life’s challenges.
The partnership aims to understand the significant contribution VCSE organisations make in local communities, supporting people to keep well, developing community resilience, and delivering interventions that improve outcomes in groups with the poorest health. It will help us to understand where the VCSE has the potential to do more, to work differently with system partners, and the way we (as a system) enable this to happen. The strategic partnership will put the VCSE and the community at the heart of our work as an ICS.
At the centre of where we are now is our landmark Memorandum of Understanding, agreed by the Integrated Care Board in November 2022. This sets out how we work together, put our local communities and residents at the heart of everything we do and establish the values on which our strategic partnership is founded.
BLMK VCSE Partnership Annual Review[SM1]
Effective Engagement with the VCSE Sector
The VCSE sector is an essential partner in the BLMK system. As we strive to deliver more holistic, person centred support to our residents, the VCSE sector’s expertise and perspectives are key to this transformation. We recognise that there will be a desire to engage with organisations in the sector to develop bids, however we also know the sector faces specific challenges regarding their capacity to collaborate effectively and sustainably with partners. During a procurement, this can lead to additional pressures for the sector due to the number of potential bidders looking to engage at the same time. BLMK VCSE Strategy Group have produced the following recommendations as one way to support more streamlined engagement with the sector.
The easiest way to share information with the sector is through VCSE newsletters and bulletins.
info@cvsbeds.org.uk for Bedfordshire and Luton
info@communityactionmk.org for Milton Keynes
If you would like to meet with organisations to discuss your bid this can be facilitated. The aim would be to arrange sessions on an agreed date, with multiple VCSE organisations at the same time. This provides an opportunity to understand how the sector works overall at a local level, as well as engaging with individual organisations. If this is of interest, please provide your details using the email addresses above, and include the types of VCSE organisations you would like to speak with. VCSE Strategy Group can then identify relevant forums for you to attend or set up bespoke sessions if required.